Episodes

Is it better to be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? And what does aquatic life have to do with college anyway? Tune in for our take. We’ll also answer your college finance and admissions questions in ...

We’re big fans of college visits, because there’s no substitute for getting a firsthand view of the institution. But not all visits are created equal, so in this week’s episode we’ll be helping you avoid some common campus vi...

For students in the final stages of deciding which school to apply to or attend, overnight visits can really make a difference. Tune in to learn more about the value of the overnight visit. We’ll also talk about the pros and ...

Whenever major changes are made to a standardized test, there’s a transition period during which colleges are receiving scores from both the old and new tests. If you’re wondering how colleges handle that, tune in this week f...

If you assume that all future doctors should major in biology, future PR practioners should major in communications, and future business leaders should major in business, you don’t want to miss this week’s segment exploring t...

Ever think that being the parent of a student in college should come with a tax break? You’re in luck—it does, and we’re going to tell you all about them in this week’s show. In our Summer Program series we’re looking at oppo...

This week’s Summer Program series segment is all about the wide variety of options available in volunteering. Doing good for free is easier than you think! We’ll also walk through negotiating scholarships and explore trends a...

The latest segment in our Getting In series on summer programs focuses in on all the options available to students interested in sports, whether playing, refereeing, managing, etc. We’ll also help families understand how to b...

This week in the Summer Program series: internships. These can be a great way to investigate a variety of careers, and we’ll talk through how to find them! We’ll also answer your college finance and admissions questions.

If you’re trying to decide between saving for college in a 529 plan or a prepaid tuition plan, this is the show for you. We’ll look at the differences between them and offer suggestions for deciding which is the right one for...

Introducing a new Getting In series: Summer Programs! We’re kicking off the inaugural episode with a focus on summer programs for students interested in STEM. Tune in to learn more about what to look for and how to find math,...

Early action results are coming in, and we have some insight into the trends we seeing at places like Stanford, Harvard, and other highly selective schools, as well as some of the publics like Michigan. Wondering what is in a...

Students who are turned down by their first choice college sometimes hatch a plan to take a gap year and reapply in the hopes of a different decision. We’ll discuss the pros and cons of this approach. In Office Hours, we’ll b...

You were deferred. Wondering what to do next? We’ve got you covered in this week’s Office Hours, when we discuss next steps for deferred students. We’ll also be talking about summer programs to consider, and how you can actua...

If you have aspirations of earning an MBA, you know that leadership is important. But do you know what constitutes good leadership experience from a business school admissions perspective? A former Wharton graduation admissio...

If there was a group of colleges focused on a personalized, student-focused college experience, would you be interested? Well Colleges That Change Lives is that group, and executive director Maria Furtado joins us to share mo...

Regular decision deadlines are approaching. This next set of deadlines is important for both students getting a later start—it’s certainly not too late!—and for students who submitted one or more applications in the early rou...

Net price calculators are an important part of figuring out if a college is a good fit—it doesn’t make sense to consider a school if you can’t afford it without going into debt. We’ll help you understand how net price calcula...

Curious about what happens to your FAFSA and/or CSS Profile once you press submit? We’ll take you behind the scenes in this week’s show and offer some insight into what goes on once your application has been received. We’ll a...

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been going through the different ways in which students can stand out in competitive college applicant pools. In our latest installment of the Standing Out series, we cover the impact of college...

Our latest in the Standing Out series looks at how the choice of where to apply to college can be a big factor in helping students stand out in the applicant pool. We’re relying on you for this week’s Office Hours—it’s all ab...

You’re working on the FAFSA and you have questions. You’re in luck, because we have answers! Tune in to this week’s show for information on completing the FAFSA. In the second in our Standing Out series, we’ll tackle extracur...

One of the most common listener questions we receive is, “How can my son/daughter stand out in the application process?” This week, we’re introducing the Standing Out series to try to get at some answers to this elusive quest...

The University of California system has its own application that takes a slightly different approach than the Common Application. Instead of one primary essay, the UC app offers eight prompts for students to choose from when ...